Alter Ego: Avatars and their creators

This book was especially fun to read because my friend was heading off to the NY Comic-Con this week, so I felt like spirit of this book was there. We talked about whether or not we would create our own avatar. And both of us agreed that we probably would not, but that leads into a discussion about all the friends that we have that have multiple and what that means to us. Both us agreed that part of the beauty of the Internet is that is the one place where everyone starts on an even playing field. When a person is on the Internet they are not defined by sex, race, age, size, sexual preference, or anything. People can be whomever they choose or nothing at all and that is the same for every person when they first log on. There is not a different log-on for people who are less than 5 feet tall and have red hair. And if I wanted to be that when I went online no one would ever be the wiser unless I wanted him or her to know. We also talked about the international and familial aspects of being an avatar. People are playing and communicating with each other from all over the world and making connections with people they may never had the want or means to do.

Both us found it fascinating to look at the professions and ages of the people in this book and then to see what their avatars were. We had a couple personal favorites like Cassien Guir/ La Blonde. My friend thought he was perfect example of what was so great about the Internet and being able to be whomever you choose without public or private repercussions. No one would ever have to know that Cassien was a man. I thought it was really brave of these gamers to expose themselves in this book. Now, anyone who reads it could know who they are and they could face all of the issues that having an avatar can save them from.

This would be a great book for teens if you could get them to read it. My concern would be that only teens interested in gaming would think about picking up this book and checking it out. Also, I don’t know if non-gamers would be able to read it without judging and thinking that gaming is only for geeks as many of them do. I would like to think that it would open their eyes and show them that gaming is for more than just nerds or geeks.

Good Girls

I like the way this book gets right into the action of the story. This seems to be a common occurrence with most teen novels, but it still always gets me every time. I read this book in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t that this the most amazing book I have read all semester. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. It was more that it was like watching a car accident. You don’t want to look, but you just can’t avert your eyes.

From the moment Audrey comes on the scene, she is a likable character who seems a bit naive and a little unsure. I was worried for her from the start. I try not to read the back covers or front flaps, so the book is always a surprise. But I knew as soon as she entered the bedroom that everything was going to go horribly wrong for her and it did. I felt like Ruby was consistent in her message about people’s perceptions and also that mistakes made can sometimes linger for longer than they should. I also liked how the author tried to work within the stereotypes of student’s at a high school and break through them, even though I was able predict most of the character development. I don’t know if a teen would read it the same way I did though.

I can see some people shying away from having this book in their collections due to some of the more graphic passages and the trip to the gynecologist. Again, I think this would be a mistake. There are lots of teens out there going through some of the same issues as Audrey (maybe not having their photo taken) like wanting to have sex, being unaware of some of the emotions and consequences that having sex can have, fitting into a stereotype and being seen as nothing more. Overall, I would say that I think teens would enjoy this book. I think that they will get the messages in without realizing that they are there.

Freak Show

I absolutely loved this book! It was one of the first books that I have read in a long time that made me laugh out loud in a good way, not the cynical “this is ridiculous” way. Lines like, “Lying on a mattress stuffed with gravel. Trying not to cut myself on the sheets. (Estimated thread count: three.) absolutely killed me. And the moments when Billy would address things like the reader reading the inside flap of the book made it so easy to really feel connected to him. He seemed to be sitting right beside while I read his story.

I think teens would really enjoy his candor and honesty (even when he admits to lying to the reader earlier in the book). The book is completely from his perspective, which he is constantly reminding us of. I know there are parts of the book that are difficult to get through because the pain and confusion is so real and the anger and rage is so stifling. But I feel like teens (even ones not having to deal with bigotry because of their sexual orientation) would be able to relate to the feelings of trying to survive a new school, fitting in, making new friends, falling in love, or wanting to hide completely from the world. I feel like this is all brought together when Billy gives his speech at the pep rally about all teenagers being freaks. “We are freaks, because we’re teenagers. We are, by nature, oily, throbbing, mutating, misshapen space aliens.” I could go on because I love the whole speech, but I won’t for sake of space.

I know that there may be some apprehension to recommend this book to a teen because of some of the issues it discusses, but I think that most teens that read this book would find part of themselves in Billy Bloom.

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